Now is Not the Time to Start a Food Blog, says Veteran Blogger Yvette Marquez-Sharpnack
Become a content creator instead, she advises. But what exactly is that?
People still wonder if they should start a food blog. After all, many old-school bloggers who dove in decades ago are still going strong, raking in the bucks from ad money and producing quality content.
Today there are more options than ever for creating an online audience. You can become an online influencer or blogger. You can start a Substack newsletter. You can become a content creator. So, which way to go?
First, what exactly is a content creator? Award-winning cookbook author Yvette Marquez-Sharpnack says it’s when you “create content across platforms with a clear voice and point of view, not just when you publish recipes on a website and wait for traffic.”
Yvette spent 15 years building her brand as the founder of MuyBuenoBlog.com. It focuses on her family’s recipes, grandmother’s stories, and “a whole lot of strategy.” Now she makes a six-figure income.
She and I have known each other for years. I coached Yvette on the book proposal for her most recent cookbook, Muy Bueno Fiestas, which led to her representation with literary agent Sally Ekus. And Yvette and I did a live Substack recently (My first! Check it out.) to discuss proposal writing and how to get a book deal.
In addition to her food blog, Yvette has a new-ish Substack newsletter, Cocina to Career, where she pulls back the curtain on how she built a brand that lasts. She covers making money and creating a brand identity, among other topics. Some of my favorite posts include:
Yvette is also the author of three cookbooks: Muy Bueno (written with her mom Vangie and sister Veronica), Latin Twist on cocktails and Muy Bueno Fiestas, which won a 2024 gold award from the Independent Book Publishers Association. She is also on new Food Network competition show called 100 Cooks.
Here’s Yvette on why not to start a food blog, what to do instead, plus how to build brand partnerships and how she’s built her six-figure business:
Q. Food bloggers are nervous these days. What’s happening with Google algorithms, especially with AI?
A. It’s honestly one of the biggest shifts I’ve seen in the 15-plus years I’ve been blogging. For a long time, food bloggers built their businesses around Google search. If they created helpful, tested content, they could grow traffic and build a sustainable business. But right now, Google’s AI integrations and evolving algorithms have changed that model.
I recently met directly with Google’s Search team. One of the biggest takeaways is that Google is prioritizing AI-generated summaries and answers right on its search page. So instead of users clicking through to our websites, they’re often getting what looks like an instant answer.
The problem is that this AI answer often pulls from multiple sources and remixes them. They’re not always accurate, especially when it comes to recipes. And that’s something I’ve been very vocal about.
What I’m seeing across the food blogging community is a mix of frustration and adaptation. Traffic is down for many creators, even those who have been in the business for years. At the same time, I felt a strong push to build direct relationships with audiences through newsletters, social media, and platforms like Substack.
Q. And you’ve been advocating for why users shouldn’t trust AI when it comes to online recipes, right?
A. I’ve been featured on NBC News talking about why AI holiday recipes can’t handle the heat, and referenced on CBS Mornings for pointing out AI-generated tamale photos that were completely wrong. Bloomberg also covered how AI recipes are taking over the internet and influencing what people cook for major holidays. So this isn’t just a food blogger issue. It’s a trust issue.